Ribbons of Blood
by Ai Ukitake
Summary: Itachi has slaughtered the Uchiha clan and broken his telepathic connection to his twin sister, Hikari. The pain is enough to nearly send her on a downward spiral to insanity. But she has Sasuke and Kakashi, and all of her friends in Konoha to help keep her anchored. But the cracks still show.
1. The End

Blood.

That is the first thing I smell, before I am even close enough to our village to see it. It's copper, and iron, and just so _strong_.

Then I see it.

Blood on the walls of our houses, blood on the floors.

Dead bodies have been strewn everywhere, carelessly. I can't bear look, I can't see the dead bodies of my clan one on top of the other in their houses, in the streets. I have only one destination in mind, and just one word.

Sasuke.

I have to get there, I have to see him, I have to hold him and know that he is okay. He _has_ to be okay.

But there's a half of me telling me to run the other way, too scared of what I might find, what if he's-

No. He will _not_, _cannot_, be dead.

And there's our house, not far now, I push my legs harder, as hard as they can go, they're burning, but I reach our door before they can give out.

My feet stop, I don't want to look.

The door is already ajar, I force myself to push it and the creak is the only sound to crack the eerie silence.

I walk through the halls, glancing in the rooms as I pass, they're all empty.

And then I hear it. Sasuke's blood-curdling scream and I'm off like a shot.

I find my way in my parents' bedroom, and the scene I see before me will forever haunt me.

My parent's, they're… they're dead.

I can't comprehend it. They can't be. This is impossible. How? Who? _Why_?

They could have just been sleeping.

Why couldn't they have just been sleeping?

Because they're bodies have fallen one top of the other in a lifeless slumber rather than the warm embrace of being alive. Because there is a dark red crimson surrounding them on the floor. Because their skin is white and grey.

And Sasuke is knelt on the floor not one foot from where I stand stock still.

He whimpers and that is enough to knock me out of my frigidly frightened state.

I am kneeling beside him in an instant, my arms wrap around him out of their own instinct, I pull him toward my chest. And, it seems, that is enough to knock him out of his state of horror too, and he begins mumbling one word. And that one word will be what throws me over the edge.

"Itachi… Itachi… Itachi…"

I feel his tears soaking my clothes, and my eyes feel too dry.

I must be in shock.

And then I see a pair of red, sharingan eyes, and I feel my whole world crumble. I suddenly feel everything Itachi feels, but this was usual for me, for our telepathic connection. This time was different.

Distant; cold; detached.

Before I can figure out why he could possibly feel this way, there is a shooting pain stabbing my skull, it's white hot pain, I gasp and grab my head. Oh, god, the pain, it's too much. Wh-What the hell is this?

My eyes are wider than I've ever felt them, my finger nails are digging into my scalp, and then my fingertips are wet. I've drawn blood. More blood shed.

"Nee-chan! Nee-chan! What's happening?"

I hear my little brother's voice, but I can't answer, can't open my mouth for fear of letting out the blood-curdling scream that wants to break loose, I clench my jaw tight, and I feel my teeth grinding painfully, but all my focus is on the unbearable agony in my skull. But I can't let anything out, or I'll scare Sasuke. I can't do more damage to him than what's been done.

I begin groaning, it's too much. Just too much!

It's getting worse and worse. How is that even possible? My whole body is rigid, goose bumps are rising over every surface of skin, my muscles are contracting, not knowing how to react to my skull ripping itself apart from the inside out. Sasuke's voice has faded to nothing. The one thing I was using to stable myself.

And then I hear it, the loudest, most crazed screeching, and then I feel my throat burning, and before I even realise that chilling noise came from me, my world goes black.

* * *

**So there it is. I've been writing a lot of angst lately, I'll hopefully write something more fun and happy soon though lol there will be another chapter for this, the aftermath of the Uchiha clan's slaughter, save for Hikari and Sasuke. I think I have a story on here with Hikari in, but if not I'll post the ones I've got on my laptop ;) Please review! I do accept con-crit :) **


	2. The Awakening

**So here is the next chapter! Oh and I'm using NARUTO as a scene break because the little squiggly lines don't work :(**

* * *

The first thing I notice is sound. I can hear a steady _beep, beep, beep_, and a deep but familiar voice talking, only faintly.

"When do you think she'll wake up?" the voice asks.

There is a deep exhale of breath. A sigh? "Gomenasai, Hatake-san, but there is no telling when she will wake, looking at the scans of her head, she suffered severe trauma, the blood vessels were close to bursting, a sure sign of a prolonged pain… And as it got to be too much for her system to handle it did the one thing it could to protect itself and that was fall into a coma. I'm afraid without knowing what caused this trauma, it makes it that much harder to determine how long she could be in this state of coma, and then of course the shock at seeing… Well, you know," this was a different voice, I do not recognise it, but it sounds tired, exhausted.

Another sigh, "I understand, I guess, gomen Dr Sato," there was a shift of movement, a friction on the floor indicating a door sliding shut.

Then footsteps and they gradually get closer, until they stop.

And then there is touch. I feel a warm sensation on my… hand is it? Yeah, it is on my… right.

Kakashi.

I try to move hand, I need to show him that I am okay, somehow, but my body doesn't want to listen to me. It's so frustrating; I'm stuck in my own body. I need to hold him, I need to kiss him. I just need _him_.

**NARUTO**

I drift in and out of consciousness, I have no sense of time, only when a nurse comes in to tell Kakashi that he should go home to bed because it's so late now and he really should get some sleep. It's those times I know it must be night time. That happens twice, before I am finally able to make the slightest twitch of a movement. I know that he does leave for some stretches in time, and someone takes his place. It's Tsunami.

She talks to me a lot, about Naruto, about how Sasuke is doing, that's where Kakashi goes, Sasuke is staying with him.

"And when you wake up, which you will, you will be staying with him too, he's already got your stuff there, and Sasuke-chan is in the spare room, there is room for you too with Sasuke-chan because Kashi-chan isn't sure how you'll feel about sharing a room with him. He's so nice that way isn't he? I mean he's still a perverted he doesn't want to rush you, and he doesn't exactly know how you'll feel when you wake up…" she carries on like that for a little while, just chatting to me about anything and everything but that's what I need. I can't stand the silence, I can't stand not having a single speck of control over my body right now, and Tsunami can talk for the both of us.

And then she pauses, it's a long pause, and I know she is building herself up to something serious.

Her voice is soft when she starts speaking again, "Itachi is now an S-rank missing Nin, after what happened, what he did, he vanished, there's not a trace of him… There's talk of the Akatsuki being revived, and they think he's with them… I-I'm _so_ sorry, I- there are no words, there's nothing I can say, and I just hope you wake up soon. We need you, Hikari, Sasuke… he's- oh, God, I don't really know, he hasn't said a word, there's a hardness in his eyes now, and Kakashi… He hasn't slept a wink, I know he hasn't, I can tell just by looking…" her voice fades, and her visit is quiet after that.

She leaves who knows how many hours later? And Kakashi takes her place.

I feel the familiar warm pressure on my right hand, I know Kakashi is holding it, it must have been hours, and that whole time, and any time he holds my hand, I have been willing my hand to move, even a twitch. I just want him to know I'm okay.

And then it happens. My fingers begin to close, and then it's over. It happens so quickly I thought I imagined it. It seems Kakashi feels the same way.

I hear him shift in his seat, his hand squeezes tight on my hand, and there is a sharp intake of breath.

"Come on, Ri-Ri…" he sits like that for a while, and all the while I am trying to do what I did before, it's just so hard, how did I do it?

He sighs and sits back, his hand still holding mine, I hear movement, and I know he's just rubbed his spare hand across his face, a mannerism I have grown accustomed to when he is agitated, or tired and fed up.

"God, how tired am I? To be imagining such things…" he says in a faint voice. He sounds like he's given up, but I know Kakashi, and he would never give up on anyone, the tiredness is getting to him. I don't think he's had a proper night's sleep since I've been aware; he's possibly had naps that were not of his own accord, but nothing more. I know that this is what he would have been like before I was awake.

But he thinks it's his imagination! I need. To. MOVE!

And then my hand moves again, more forceful this time, my hand has turned, nearly holding Kakashi's in my own. I feel victorious. At last!

Kakashi jumps, and his voice is closer, I know he's sitting on the edge of his seat. I can see him in my head now, his visible eye wide in fascination, but his silver mane is more unkempt than usual, and he probably has dark rings around his eyes.

His hand tightens again, "Please, Ri-Ri, come on, do something again, wake up, please, I need you to wake up," his voice is so beautiful, I can't get enough, I need to see him!

My hand tightens in his, and I am holding it in a strong grip, there are more sensations now, not just the warm tingling, but now I feel his skin, so soft but there is a roughness to it from his years of combat, he doesn't have his gloves on.

"That's good, come on baby, you're doing great," he says, soothingly, and then I feel his hand stroking my face gently, it's the lightest of touches, but it's enough.

I feel my eyebrows frowning, I move them as much as I can, my eyes flutter a little, and then they open.

The brightness is what hits me first; I immediately frown, narrowing my eyes until they adjust. And then I can open them fully, and I look around, not really taking in the white walls of the hospital room, I don't see any beds, I must have a room of my own. Then I found what I was looking for.

"Ka-Kakash-" my voice is a croak, and so hoarse, barely a whisper from disuse.

"Hey, hey, shhh, you don't have to talk, the doctor said it would be hard time for you for the first couple of days," he says softly, in the voice I so love, he strokes my hair, my face, my arms, any part he can reach. I know he's relieved, I can see it in his eye, his beautiful charcoal eye, crinkling from the smile that is hidden from my view. Well, I think I need to rectify that.

I lift my right hand up, shakily, and stroke his clothed face, his left hand reaches up to hold, and his face turns into it.

"Mask… Off," I demand in a whisper.

He laughs under his breath, "Even weak from a coma you make demands of me," he says fondly, and I see all the love in his eye.

He let's go of my hand and I pull down his mask, happy to see him fully. I stroke his face, I am just happy to be in control of my body again, and to see, and to feel Kakashi.

His face although imperfect, is perfect to me. The scar on left, sharingan, eye is not the only scar on his face. He has a scar running down his cheek, and running rigidly just past his jaw, one of the reason he hides his face. Although, it's mostly for the fun and mystery it gives.

He leans down, slowly, too slowly for me, I pull his face down forcefully, our lips touch and I feel him smile against my lips. My hand grips his hair, not its usual softness, it felt a bit rough, thick and greasy. I wrinkle my nose and pull away a little, "Shower," I whisper, my voice so hoarse and hurting, I could barely manage word sentences.

He laughs again, shaking his head, I love to hear him laugh, "You're awake for what, not even five minutes, and already you're commenting on my hygiene?" he asks, grinning.

I shrug, and smile, pulling him down again to kiss me. The beeping starts to get faster on the monitor and it knocks Kakashi out of it, and he's pulling away, I frown, "Look, as much as I wanna be doing this all day, I have to get the doctor," he explains, putting his mask back on.

I roll my eyes, and lay back, already exhausted, he looks at me in understanding, stroking my face, "Rest after the doctor sees you, I'm sure he's gonna want to do some tests, or whatever it is they do, and they may need you awake and consenting for it,"

I nod my head wearily, forcing my eyes open, watching as he leaves the room.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed that snippet of Hikari waking up! The next chapter may be more angsty and showing the signs of Hikari's frayed sanity after the traumatic experience of Itachi breaking their telepathic connection ;) I love Hikari with all my heart but I just can't seem to help but put her through all of this! Please review, lots of people have been favoriting or alerting but it would really help me if people would review with what they like about it or what they don't so that I can then improve :)  
**

**~AiUkitake**


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